1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to scanner radios typically used to monitor emergency calls and governmental transmittals such as police, emergency squad, highway patrol, forest ranger and other channels. More particularly, the present invention relates to radio scanner internet systems which include a plurality of computers having radio scanner hardware and software built into them, and which are connectable to a variety of remote antennas via internet connection.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
A scanner radio user can listen to a multitude of frequencies whilst the ordinary radio (AM/FM) can only be tuned to but one station. An ordinary radio is thus tuned to a continuous transmission while the scanner radio is tuned to transmissions when they occur. A particular frequency may only have a transmission sparsely. This enables scanners to monitor hundreds of stations (frequencies) at the same time.
Present day use of radio scanners is extremely widespread in the United States of America and scanning is used for many purposes including information gathering, private hobbying, volunteer alerting, news gathering, etc.
Radio scanners are used to follow law enforcement activities, fire fighters, emergency and rescue squads, highways, forestry, aircraft, railroads, utilities, business, transportation, schools, sports, theme parks, governments (federal, state, county, local), military and other non AM/FM radio communications. Scanner users and Ham operators have evolved into more sophisticated purchasers of equipment and complex and very wide range band equipment is commercially available. Some scanner devices are smaller manual devices like transistor radios in size and simplicity, while others now have input chips and can have preset or preselected frequencies. However, the technology has not merged with other technologies in existence and no equipment exists or suggests the combination of scanner hardware, scanner software, computer CPU/monitor/input operations integrated with changing frequency information and remotely located signal receiving capabilities via the internet, as in the present invention.
The internet is used today to provide users with access to radio stations, TV stations, music, concerts, etc. However, such systems are based on hardware/software remotely located from the users"" computers and operate with conventional computers. On the other hand, the present invention includes modified computers having radio scanner hardware and software built into them and only use the internet to select and connect to remote antennas, to increase scanner channel options for the users.
Thus, notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.
The present invention is a computer-based radio scanner internet system. It includes a plurality of home base user computers with radio scanner hardware and software contained therein, at least one host server computer, a plurality of remotely located antenna computers connected to antennas, and an internet system connecting these. The home base user computer has a conventional microprocessor with a CPU having operating system hardware and software for conventional microprocessing, including same for operating a sound system. A monitor and a data input means, such as a keyboard or mouse, as well as disc drive, CD Rom drive or other electronic data input means, are also included. There is radio scanner hardware contained within the microprocessor including a radio receiver and a frequency changer with a scanner range having at least some frequencies in the range of 25 MHz to 1,300 MHz. Radio scanner software is included with the microprocessor and scanner hardware to permit a user to operate the radio scanner hardware through the input mechanism of the microprocessor. The plurality of remote antenna computers are available via the internet connection for connecting to home base user computers to offer remote scanning of even an intercontinental nature, e.g., a user in Boston can, through this system, use his computer-based scanner to scan frequencies in, for example, Los Angeles.
In most preferred embodiments, the home base user computers have their own antennas for internet-free scanning and the software and hardware provide to the user the ability to switch from the internet-free local scanning capabilities to the universal internet scanning capabilities of the present invention. Thus, by utilizing its own antenna for local scanning, there is no need to interconnect with the internet. When the user exercises the option of switching to the internet system, the host server web page will enable the user to select not only locations or regions but also any and all frequencies which the remote antenna would receive just as if the user were at that remote location.
In preferred embodiments, the scanner hardware of the user computers may be in the form of a removable board or card inserted into the microprocessor. In some preferred embodiments, the radio scanner sound operates independently of the other available computer operations, thereby enabling the user to listen to the scanner radio while conducting other routine computer functions.